Dillow in Iraq: Flyboys of Al Asad are O.C.'s homeboys

A crew member on a CH-53 helicopter gives a thumbs up before landing at Al Asad air base. GORDON DILLOW, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A Marine CH-53 coming in for a landing at Battle Position Tripoli near Qaim on the Syrian border. You have to wear earplugs when you ride in one. GORDON DILLOW, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Capt. Zachary Webb, a graduate of Villa Park High, in the cargo bay of his MV-22 Osprey. He compares flying the Osprey to driving a new Corvette. GORDON DILLOW, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Major John Schaefer of Mission Viejo, a Marine Reserve officer, is the executive officer of Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 16 at Al Asad air base. GORDON DILLOW, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Lance Cpl. David Miller of Marine Aviation Logisitics Squadron 16 at Al Asad air base shows off his current repair project, a CH-53 helicopter engine that costs $1 million new. GORDON DILLOW, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A Marine CH-53 lands at Battle Position Tripoli near Qaim on the Syrian border, kicking up a cloud of "moon dust." GORDON DILLOW, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

More Dillow's Iraq

AL ASAD, IRAQ - I've spent most of my time in Iraq over the past five years with Marine infantrymen, the "grunts," the groundpounders. I've never really had a chance to get to know the guys in the sky.

Sure, in getting from Point A to Point B in Iraq, I've often ridden with Marine and other air units. I've flown in Marine CH-46 and CH-53 helicopters, in Army UH-60 "Black Hawks" and on Marine and Air Force C-130 transport planes.

Once in April 2003, after the fall of Baghdad, I caught a ride back to Kuwait from Iraq aboard a C-130 on which I was the sole "cargo." The crew offered me a cold Mountain Dew soda pop out of their ice chest, the first cold drink I'd had in more than a month with the "grunts."

I hate Mountain Dew. It tasted wonderful.

But I've never really had the opportunity to talk to the air guys. It's too loud in military aircraft to chat - you have to wear earplugs - and in any event, when they're flying, they're busy.

But the other day I stopped by Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 (VMM-162) here at Al Asad air base and spent some time with Marine Capt. Zachary Webb, 29. Capt. Webb is a graduate of Villa Park High School who used to fly CH-46s but now pilots the new MV-22 "Osprey" tilt-rotor aircraft.

This guy loves his aircraft.

"I love both of them," Capt. Webb says. "The 46 is like your old truck that's all banged up but you still love to drive it. This (the Osprey) is like a brand new Corvette. It's sleek, it's fast - it truly is an amazing aircraft."

True, the Osprey, which can fly like a plane or hover like a helicopter, is often described as "controversial"; in the early development stages, there were cost overruns and several fatal crashes. The aircraft cost about $90 million apiece.

But Capt. Webb says the Osprey's greater speed, range and high-altitude capability than the old CH-46s, which it is replacing, make it the Marine all-purpose aircraft of the future. The biggest difficulty he faces flying his Osprey in Iraq is that when the aircraft lands in helicopter mode at some dusty landing zone, the rotors can create a "brownout" of fine dust, forcing the pilot to land on instruments.

That, the captain says, can be a "butt-clenching experience."

I had hoped to get a ride in Capt. Webb's Osprey but scheduling problems have prevented that. Maybe later.

Meanwhile, there's another guy here at Al Asad who is also hoping to fly. His name is Lance Cpl. David Miller.

The unit's executive officer, Maj. John Schaefer, a Marine Reserve officer from Mission Viejo, invited me down to see what they do here - 12 hours on, 12 hours off, seven days a week.

What Lance Cpl. Miller does is fix engines for CH-53-D helicopters, complex pieces of machinery that cost a million dollars new. As the lance corporal showed me the engine he was working on - pouring out facts about igniters and combustion chambers and other technical stuff - it was obvious that he has a passion for his work.

"It's important," he says. "We're keeping the birds in the air."

As I've said before, it's an amazing thing. Most American corporations wouldn't really trust a 23-year-old to run the office copy machine. But the military will take a 23-year-old - or younger - and give him or her responsibility for a million-dollar piece of equipment on which dozens of lives can depend.

During his chat with me, Lance Cpl. Miller mentioned that although he works on CH-53 engines, he's never had a chance to fly in one. Maj. Schaefer didn't think that was fair, so he has arranged a CH-53 flight for the lance corporal. And they'll even let him test-fire the helicopter's .50-caliber machine over the desert.

Like they say, it's not just a job.

It's an adventure.

Contact the Writer: GordonDillow@gmail.com You can see more of Dillow's columns and photos from Iraq at www.ocregister.com.

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